


Revolutionary Girl Ingrid

by StarscreamXVII



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Incest, M/M, Part serious part parody, Revolutionary Girl Utena References, Surrealist Bullshit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:02:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25657114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarscreamXVII/pseuds/StarscreamXVII
Summary: Ingrid Galatea wants to be a noble prince, but when she gets sucked into a series of ritualistic duels for the hand of the rose bride Dorothea, she has to wonder if that's really such a good idea. Now she's engaged to a girl and crossing swords with childhood friends.AU that mashes up the characters of Three Houses with the plot of Revolutionary Girl Utena. No, I haven't read any of the other Three Houses/Utena fanfics on here.
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Ingrid Brandl Galatea, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	1. The Rose Bride

**Author's Note:**

> This is a retelling of Revolutionary Girl Utena but with Three Houses characters. I don't know if this fic will make sense to anyone who doesn't know both Three Houses and Utena, but oh well. I originally thought this fic would be like 2,000 words per each season of Utena, but it ended up being almost 20,000 words total, so I hope y'all like reading!
> 
> For reference, this doesn't take place in the world of either Three Houses or Utena, but its own vaguely defined setting. This is a world where elevators and trains exist but stopwatches do not, where noble houses are a thing but are basically just wealthy/influential families rather than political/governmental entities, and magic may exist but most people would tell you that it doesn't.
> 
> In one of the later chapters I'll post a full list of which Three Houses characters are taking the place of which Utena characters, but I don't want to spoil all that just yet.

Once upon a time, many years ago, there lived a little princess. She was sad and prepared to give up all hope, for her betrothed had died. But then a traveling prince appeared before her. The prince wrapped the princess in a rose-scented embrace and gently wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Little one," he said, "who suffers alone in such deep sorrow, never lose that strength or nobility, even when you grow up.” He slipped a ring onto her finger. “I give you this so that you may remember this day. This ring will lead you to me again in the future." 

Perhaps the ring the prince gave her was an engagement ring. That was all well and good, but she was so impressed by him that the princess vowed to become a prince herself one day. But was that really such a good idea?

***

“What is this all about, Felix?”

Ingrid hadn’t spoken to her childhood friend in years, not since the day of Glenn’s funeral. And now here she was, standing on top of a tower in the middle of Garreg Mach Academy, about to duel him.

The tower rose far above the rest of the school, yet Ingrid had somehow never seen it before. And she had certainly never seen the upside-down castle floating in the sky above their heads. 

“The time for talking is over, Ingrid,” Felix said. “You were foolish enough to challenge me to a duel, so all that’s left to do is fight.”

With this, he took the girl standing beside him — Dorothea, if Ingrid remembered correctly — into his arms. She was beautiful, even more so now that she had traded her school uniform and jaunty black hat for a gorgeous dress. She was supposedly Felix’s fiance, but he had treated her so horribly. 

That was why Ingrid challenged him in the first place. It just seemed like the sort of thing a heroic Prince would do. But now she was a part of something much bigger than a lover’s quarrel, something to do with her and Felix’s matching rose crest rings and the brutal, bone-like sword he pulled out of Dorothea’s chest.

Ingrid looked down at her own wooden training sword and gulped.

“Do you understand the rules?” Dorothea asked in a gentle voice. “The first one to cut the rose from the other’s breast wins the hand of the rose bride.”

Rose Bride. Ingrid really had no idea what she’d gotten herself into. She fiddled with the blue rose pinned to her chest. Well, she was already in this. Might as well try to win. 

“Here goes nothing.”

***

“Do you know? Do you know? Have you heard the news?”

“Lady Ingrid Galatea defeated Felix Fraldarius with just a piece of wood!”

“And now she’s engaged to a girl!”

“A girl engaged to a girl! What will they think of next?”

A group of students hurried by, covering their faces to hide their secondhand embarrassment. No one ever stopped for long to watch Claude and Hilda act out their gossip with shadow puppets in the middle of the hallway.

***

“If it cannot break out of its shell, the chick will die without ever being born. We are the chick; the world is our egg. If we don't crack the world's shell, we will die without being born. Smash the world's shell — for the Revolution of the World!”

“I don’t understand how Felix lost,” Ferdinand said as he flipped an hourglass. “Not that I’m complaining — he treated Dorothea so terribly — but that girl wasn’t even using a real sword!”

“Felix became overconfident,” Dmitri said. “He believed that Ingrid was still the same little girl we knew as children. He couldn’t see that he’s not the only one who has grown up.” 

Student Council President Emile threw an alarming number of knives at the wall, forming the pattern of a skull. He didn’t appear to be paying any attention to the conversation going on around him, but Dimitri and Ferdinand knew better. 

“She has a ring,” he said as he let the last knife fly from his hand, “Which means that this is the will of End of the World. He will no doubt send a letter informing us of the next challenger. Be prepared.”

***

“I can’t believe you’re moving in with a girl you don’t even know,” Sylvain said. “I thought we were going to room together!”

“Why would you think that?” Ingrid asked. “Boys and girls aren’t even allowed to live in the same building, much less the same room.”

“Wishful thinking, I guess. Still, we’re going to be so far apart now. You’re moving into the abandoned dorm on the edge of campus, right? Who’s going to apologize to all the girls I leave heartbroken now?”

“I guess you’ll have to do it yourself.” Ingrid jabbed him in the ribs. “Maybe it’s finally time to grow up.”

Sylvain complained a little longer before changing the subject.

“So… Do you know anything about what's up with Felix? He’s supposedly been acting really strange lately, and I heard that he’s not engaged to that girl anymore…”

Ingrid rolled her eyes. Sylvain couldn’t hide his little crush from her. Still, how could she possibly explain what happened?

“I haven’t seen him,” she lied. “Come on, we’ll be late for class.”

***

“I am the Rose Bride,” Dorothea said in that same gentle voice. “And since you won the duel, I am yours.”

“I don’t  want you to be mine,” Ingrid said. “I know I act tough, and I want to be a Prince, but that doesn’t mean I want to be engaged to a girl! I don’t want to be engaged to anyone.”

“The only way to end our engagement is to lose a duel,” Dorothea said. “But other than that, I can and will do anything you tell me to.”

“I don’t want you to do what I want you to!” Ingrid shouted. “Just… be yourself.”

As soon as Ingrid said those two words, Dorothea’s calm, gentle demeanor dropped away and her face stretched into a wide smile. 

“So, we can do what I want to do?”

“I guess…” Ingrid said, now slightly concerned.

Dorothea grabbed Ingrid by the shoulders and shoved her in front of a mirror. “Great! Then it’s time for a makeover.”

“A what?”

“You’re going to be the most beautiful Prince anyone has ever seen. You’re already bewitching, of course, but when I’m finished, people will have trouble keeping their hands off you!”

“Well, they had better, if they want to keep their hands.”

“Is that so? Well then, I’ll ask permission before I pounce on you.”

“Wha… No! Permission is not granted, ever! Hands off!”

***

“Dorothea?”

“Yes, Lady Ingrid?”

“Just Ingrid, please.”

“Yes, Ingrid?”

“What do you think of Ferdinand? He seems quite smitten with you.”

“I don’t think much of him at all.”

“Oh…” Ingrid frowned. At least Ferdinand wasn’t around to hear that devastating answer.

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, I just wondered if you maybe liked him back.”

Dorothea laughed. “Ingrid, you know that I am engaged to you!”

“Right, of course…”

***

“Lady Ingrid,” Ferdinand stammered, “I’m afraid that I must challenge you for the hand of the Rose Bride!”

Ingrid let out a long sigh. She knew that Ferdinand was a part of this whole Rose Bride thing — he was the one who explained how the whole student council was dueling amongst themselves to win the power to “revolutionize the world” (whatever that meant) — but she thought he had more sense than the rest of them. 

Maybe he did. The problem was that he wanted Dorothea for himself, to sing to him for the rest of his life. 

Ingrid considered throwing the duel. Maybe they’d be happy together?

But no, how could Dorothea be happy with someone she didn’t even like, especially if she really did have to do whatever her fiance commanded.

Ingrid realized that the only person she could trust not to take advantage of Dorothea was herself.

“Grant me the power to bring the world revolution!” she cried as she pulled the Sword of Creation from Dorothea’s chest.

***

“You’ve been doing well in the duels,” Emile said. Ingrid spun around, ready to fight. Neither she nor Dorothea heard the student council president come into the greenhouse behind them. He was almost like a ghost. His creepy little mask didn’t help, either.

“Are you here to challenge me next?” Ingrid asked, crossing her arms.

“Not at all,” Emile said. “Even if I wanted to, the duels are arranged by End of the World. It’s not my time yet.”

“Who or what is this End of the World?” Ingrid asked.

“That is not for you to know,” Emile said. “All any of us need to know is our place. Our purpose. You, for instance. Playing at being a Prince. Wouldn’t you rather just be a Princess? Maybe you should be waiting for a Prince to save you, hm? Or rather, waiting for him to return?”

Ingrid felt something drop in the pit of her stomach. How did he know that? Could he be… 

No. There was no way that Emile von Bartels was her prince. 

Was there?

***

Ingrid didn’t mind being engaged young. She loved Glenn. He was so chivalrous and brave, like a medieval knight. 

When he died, she felt like she had died, too. She stood there by the casket for the entire funeral and through the night, long after her family, Dimitri, Sylvain, and even Felix had gone. 

Eventually, night fell and it began to rain. A flash of lightning illuminated a second casket that Ingrid hadn’t seen before. It was open and empty. She crawled inside and waited to die. 

But then he came. Her Prince. She felt ashamed that she couldn’t even remember what he looked like, except that he was radiant and beautiful. She didn’t even remember everything he said to her, except that she showed her something, something that made her feel like living again.

What color was his hair? It could’ve been Emile’s beautiful gold, for all she knew. And whatever his face looked like, it could be waiting behind Emile’s mask. She couldn’t deny the possibility.

But if her Prince really was Emile, then when the time came, how could she possibly fight him?

*** 

“So what do you girls do all alone in that big, empty dorm every night?” Sylvain asked with a disgusting smirk on his face. Ingrid got the very strong urge to punch it off him and send him toppling down the hill.

“We’ll never tell,” Dorothea said with a wink.

“Dorothea!” Ingrid’s face went red. “Don’t listen to her, Sylvain. We don’t do anything except sleep.”

“I dunno, I’ve definitely heard some screams coming from there at night.”

“That’s called opera,” Dorothea said.

“What were you doing by our dorm in the middle of the night, anyway?” Ingrid asked. 

Another voice cut in before Sylvain could come up with an excuse.

“Pardon me, but are you Ingrid Galatea?” Ingrid turned to see an older girl with long blonde hair coming towards her. Ingrid had seen her around before, her and her three companions, but she’d never caught any of their names.

“Yes, that’s me,” Ingrid answered cautiously.

“It’s a delight to meet you,” the girl said with a wide smile. “I’m Mercedes von Bartels.”

Von Bartels. So this was Emile’s sister. Ingrid had heard rumors about her, how she was obsessed with her little brother, how she was actually old enough to have already graduated but somehow stuck around just to look out for him.

The others introduced themselves, too — Anette Dominic, Ashe Ubert, and Constance von Nuvelle. Ingrid began to introduce Dorothea, but Mercedes cut her off.

“Oh, I know Dorothea Arnault very well,” Mercedes said, an edge in her voice.

“And I’m Sylvain Gautier, nice to meet you all!” All three of the girls gave Sylvain a look that said "We've already met, and I very much wish we hadn't". 

“Oh, I guess I’ve spoken to you ladies before,” he said with a nervous laugh. He shut his mouth and retreated behind Dorothea.

“What can I do for you, Mercedes?” Ingrid asked.

“I heard you’ve been talking to my brother,” she said.

“We’ve spoken once or twice,” Ingrid said, rubbing the back of her head. “Student Council stuff, mostly…”

Mercedes was suddenly at Ingrid’s side, still smiling wide. She leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“My brother is a very sensitive young man. So if you do anything to him, anything, I will not hesitate to burn you alive. Understood?”

“Um…”

“ Understood? ”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good.”

Then Mercedes was gone, her three companions running to catch up to her.

“She’s scary,” Dorothea said. “I like it.”

***

“It seems that Dmitri and I are up next,” Emile said as he stepped off the elevator onto the student council’s terrace. From here they could see nearly all of Garreg Mach Academy.

“What is your reason for dueling?” Ferdinand asked Dimitri. “You’ve never really seemed like a believer in revolutionizing the world.”

“Neither have you,” Dimitri said. “But you still dueled her.”

“Well, that’s different,” Ferdinand said with a blush.

“I’m not in any hurry to fight, anyway,” Dimitri said. “Emile can take his turn first.”

“We will duel in the order that End of the World commands,” Emile said. Always so stoic, Dimitri thought. Except for those few occasions when…

“By the way,” Emile said, “I’ve heard that Edelgard is transferring back to Garreg Mach soon.” He looked at Dimitri, a sinister look behind that mask. This was one of those few occasions.

“I don’t see how that’s any of our business,” Dimitri said as he turned away. Though he tried to appear unbothered, he couldn't help but run a hand across the dagger on his belt.

***

“Hello, Ingrid.”

Even after all these years, Ingrid recognized Dimitri’s voice without looking. 

“Hello, Dimitri,” she said, eying the rose crest ring on his finger. “It’s been a while.”

“It has indeed. You have been well, I hope?”

“As well as can be expected,” Ingrid said, staying vague so as not to turn the conversation to Glenn. “But what about you? I’ve heard all kinds of things about the Garreg Mach fencing captain. They say you’re unbeatable in a fight, and that even the teachers and faculty are afraid of you.”

“Is that so? You make me sound like some kind of wild boar.”

“I don’t know about that, but I did hear that one teacher resigned because you looked at him funny.”

Dimitri chuckled. “So that rumor’s gotten around? Oh well. I hear you’re no slouch in a fight yourself.”

Here it was. Ingrid knew that Dimitri didn’t care how she was doing in her own fencing class. He cared about the duels.

If she was being honest, Ingrid wasn’t actually sure how she won those fights. Felix was captain of the kendo club, and Ferdinand was second only to Dimitri in fencing. She was pretty good in a fight, but even she had to admit she wasn’t that good. 

It was as if that sword she pulled from Dorothea’s chest, the Sword of the Creator, did the fighting for her. Like some other being was controlling her body in the last moments of each duel…

But Ingrid would never admit that to Dimitri. “I guess I’ve done pretty well,” she said. “Let me ask you something, Dimitri. You were always a smart, reasonable kid. Why are you a part of all this? These duels to control Dorothea and get what, ‘the power to revolutionize the world?’ You really believe in that?”

“Not at all,” Dimitri said. “In fact, that’s exactly why I’m a part of these duels. The others all seem to think that Dorothea will grant them some miraculous powers. But my experiences have taught me that there’s no such thing as miracles. And I intend to prove that when I win her hand myself.”

“So you are going to challenge me. I knew it.”

“And why are you fighting?” he asked.

“Well, I don’t believe in all this stuff either, but I don’t think anyone should be controlling Dorothea. So I’m fighting for her, I guess.” Ingrid felt herself blush and wondered what, exactly, that meant.

Suddenly, Dimitri was holding her by the arm, his face contorted in anger. “Where did you get all this false nobility? Do you think you’re some kind of knight? A prince? Those kinds of thoughts should’ve died in you with Glenn. You’re too naive to be a part of all this. That’s why I’m going to defeat you, and when I do, I’m going to take that ring off your finger and toss it into the lake!”

And then, as quickly as he had exploded, Dimitri disappeared.


	2. Something Eternal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ingrid fights the rest of the student council to preserve whatever it is that she and Dorothea have together.

“Grant me the power to bring the world revolution!” 

Ingrid didn’t know why she had to get so close to Dorothea to summon the sword of the creator. The whole act was so… intimate, in a way she’d never wanted to be with anyone, much less a girl. She felt the blush return to her cheeks as she drew the sword from the rose bride’s breast.

“I won’t go easy on you,” Dimitri said, and he didn’t. Dimitri fought viciously, like a wild boar, and it was all Ingrid could do just to protect her rose. Forget fighting back.

She felt that surge again, that feeling like something was entering her body from the castle above and guiding the sword in her hands. She lunged forward, using the same finishing move that had defeated Ferdinand. But Dimitri knocked the sword from her grasp, sending it flying into the air.

“Where’s that miraculous victory, Ingrid?” Dimitri tossed her to the ground. “This battle is over.”

But before he could strike the final blow, the sword of the creator plunged back down, slicing the rose from his chest.

He stared at Ingrid in shock. “No… It’s not possible. That was just a freak accident. There’s no such thing as miracles!”

***

“Oh, hello Ferdinand.” Ingrid greeted the man standing at the door to her dorm. “Can I help you with something?”

“Is Dorothea with you?” he asked. “I know that she is your bride, and does whatever you command, but we made plans to sing together this afternoon…”

“Hold on,” Ingrid said, fire rising in her cheeks. “I don’t tell Dorothea what to do. If anything, she’s the one in charge in this rela…” Ingrid caught herself. 

She’d almost called what they had a relationship, but of course it wasn’t. Their engagement was just a silly, fake thing. 

“Anyway, Dorothea’s personal plans are her own. If she didn’t meet you here when she said she would, that’s on her.”

“You aren’t at all worried?” Ferdinand asked. “I doubt she would go off somewhere without informing you.”

Ingrid wasn’t worried. At least, not until she went inside and found the note on her bed.

***

“Why are we doing this again, Felix?” Ingrid asked. Felix and Dorothea stood on the other side of the arena, just like last time, except that now Felix was holding Dorothea against her will.

“The rose bride is mine,” Felix shouted. “It was a fluke that you beat me in the first place. Dorothea loves me, and your sword skills are nothing compared to mine! I’m just returning things to the way they should be.”

Ingrid didn’t know if this duel would even count. Felix had kidnapped Dorothea, and Ingrid doubted he received a letter from “End of the World” to do so. She wasn’t even wielding the sword of the creator, just a rapier Ferdinand lent her.

The fight was really up to her this time.

Felix came at her fast, but there was something desperate about his movements, and Ingrid found it surprisingly easy to parry his attacks. Maybe she actually had gotten pretty good at this.

“Go Ingrid, woohoo!” Dorothea shouted from the sidelines. Felix froze as if he was in shock. 

Did he really think Dorothea loved him, was rooting for him? Ingrid shook her head in pity as she cleaved the rose from his chest.

“You lose, Felix,” she said, turning away and walking back towards Dorothea.

“What did you see?” Felix demanded. “You were the most ruined of all of us back then, back when Glenn died. I thought you would curl up and die right there in that church, but the next day you were more alive than ever! I want what you saw! The thing that let you keep on living from that day, that something eternal! I have to have it!”

Ingrid tried to answer, but Felix was already upon her, sword still in hand. Before she could defend herself, someone stepped between them.

Emile.

Felix faltered, but his sword still sliced across Emile’s back.

***

“Do you know? Do you know? Have you heard the news?”

“Felix Fraldarius attacked and nearly killed Emile von Bartels!”

“They say he kidnapped a girl, too.”

“Apparently Emile was protecting Ingrid Galatea.”

“Wow, what a prince!”

Professor Manuela stuck her head out of her classroom door. “Claude, Hilda! Stop playing with the lights out there! Some of us are trying to hold classes!”

***

Sylvain answered the knock at his door to find Felix, his childhood friend (and totally-nothing-more-than-that), standing in front of him.

“Felix? Long time no see, buddy.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry about that. Look, I’m sure you’ve heard…”

“I have,” Sylvain said. “But you don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

“Thanks. Well, I’m technically expelled now, so I was wondering… Can I crash with you?”

***

“Oh Ingrid!” Though the voice was sweet and sing-song, Ingrid was frozen in fear when she heard it. 

Mercedes.

“Oh, hi Mercedes…” she said with a nervous chuckle. She grabbed Dorothea’s hand for emotional support. 

Mercedes was smiling brightly, her eyes closed and head tilted, but Ingrid knew it was just a front. Something was brewing under the surface.

“Do you remember what I told you when we last spoke?”

“Mercedes, I swear that what happened to Emile…”

“Don’t!” Mercedes exploded. “Don’t even speak his name. I don’t care about your excuses, Ingrid. You are the reason my brother was hurt, and I cannot allow that to go unpunished. You should know that, until he is healed, I am taking his place on the student council.”

Ingrid’s face paled when she realized what that meant. “You’re challenging me now?”

Mercedes handed her a neatly folded envelope. It was perfumed, the delightful smell contrasting sharply with its insidious contents.

“This afternoon. Don’t be late.”

***

As terrifying as Mercedes could be, she was no swordmaster. From what Ingrid had heard, she was studying medicine — or would have been if she were actually in college. 

The girl fought viciously, though, and even pulled a dagger on Ingrid.

In the end, though, Ingrid used that same mysterious power to claim yet another victory.

“I don’t care about these roses,” Mercedes said. “You’ll pay for what happened to Emile!”

She charged Ingrid again, sword in one hand and dagger in the other. Ingrid could hold her off, but how could she beat her if she didn’t care about the rules? Would she have to kill her?

“Mercedes.” It was Emile. He seemed surprisingly well for someone who had been slashed with a sword just a few days earlier.

Mercedes dropped her blades. “Emile! I just wanted to…”

“It’s alright,” he said, wrapping his sister in a hug. “I know. But  I am the one who swore to protect  you , remember? You don’t have to fight on my behalf.”

“Oh Emile!” Mercedes began to sob, and as he comforted her, he gave Ingrid a quick wink.

***

Ingrid could barely pay attention as Dorothea serenaded her on the bench outside their dorm. Her mind was wandering everywhere but there.

“Don’t you like my singing?” Dorothea asked.

“Hm? Oh yes, of course I do. I’m just distracted. Thinking about the past, I suppose.”

Dorothea sat on the bench beside Ingrid, so close she was practically in her lap. “Oh my lovely Ingrid, if there is anything I can do to help, you just have to ask.”

Dorothea waggled her eyebrows on the word ‘help,’ and Ingrid felt that familiar blush rise in her cheeks again.

“Oh, d-do I belong to you now, instead of the other way around?” Ingrid stuttered out, hoping this was a clever deflection.

“I like to think we belong to each other,” Dorothea said. “Aren’t you happy with me?”

“Well…” Ingrid had to admit that being with Dorothea did make her happy. Not  with her with her, of course — this still wasn’t a real relationship by any means.

“I guess you’re not so bad,” she finally said.

***

“Oh, Emile!” Ingrid greeted him nervously.

The truth was she didn’t know what to think of him. Not just because she didn’t know whether or not he was her prince. She also didn’t know what it would mean if she had found her prince again, after all this time.

Would she want to thank him? To marry him? Could she marry him, considering she was already engaged to Dorothea? 

No, she had to stop thinking of Dorothea as her actual fiance. None of that was really real, of course.

“I just wanted to check on you,” he said in a cool, measured tone. “I hope my sister didn’t hurt you? She can be rather… overprotective.”

“No, I’m fine,” Ingrid said. “It takes more than an angry big sister to bring me down.”

“So it seems. I must admit, I also wanted to ask you a question.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“I was wondering if you might surrender the rose bride?”

“What?”

“You’ve been involved in this long enough, I think. The truth is, while I have no desire to fight you, I am the one who must take the power to Revolutionize the World. It is my duty as a Prince.”

Ingrid took a step back. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“Surely you’ve already figured it out, Ingrid,” he said, stepping forward to close the distance between them. “You already know the truth, deep inside yourself.”

So it was him? Emile was her prince? But then, what about Dorothea?

“Now please, Ingrid. Give up this whole game. Give up the rose bride and this whole ‘prince’ fantasy. You can be a normal girl again.”

A normal girl…

Was that even what she wanted?

“I… I don’t know.”

“I see,” Emile said. His face fell, and Ingrid thought she saw something sinister lurking in his eyes. “Very well. In that case, I am officially challenging you to a duel. We will have to let our blades do the talking.”

***

Ingrid watched Dorothea as she placed the roses on her and Emile’s breasts. Was she jealous of Ingrid’s prince? Relieved that she might soon be free of her? Ingrid realized that she didn’t actually know what Dorothea wanted for herself. 

She’d have to ask her, once this was all over.

“Grant me the power to bring the world revolution!”

Emile was the best fighter Ingrid had faced so far, as aggressive as Dimitri but with unparalleled control and poise. She knew she was no match for him, but he seemed to toy with her as if he were waiting for something.

Then Ingrid felt that power fill her up again, and she lunged at Emile. But instead of trying to defend himself, he just stood there, sword at his side, baring his chest for her.

“Will you kill me, Ingrid?”

She dropped the sword of the creator at the last second, narrowly avoiding running Emile through. In a flash, he brought his own sword back up and sliced her rose in two.

***

“Come, Dorothea,” Emile commanded.

“No!” Ingrid shouted. “You don’t have to go with him, Dorothea. You can be your own person. You can do what you want! You can… you can stay with me…”

Dorothea gave Ingrid a sad smile. “Goodbye, Lady Ingrid.”

Then she took Emile’s arm and walked away.

***

“Are you really gonna just sit there and take this?” Sylvain demanded.

“What can I do?” Ingrid asked. “Dorothea went along with him willingly. Everything they said about her, about the rose bride, it was all true. Whatever was between us, whatever we had, it wasn’t real.”

Ingrid saw a look of realization on Sylvain’s face and was glad that he at least had enough tact not to make any inappropriate jokes at a time like this.

“Well, even if that’s all true, you shouldn’t be acting this way.”

“What way?”

“Like this! All quiet and demure and not constantly criticizing everything I say and do. It’s not normal!”

“I think I was just lying to myself,” Ingrid said. “I wanted to live up to my image of Glenn so much that I became something I wasn’t. This tough girl, a knight, a prince. It’s not really me.”

“Then what is?”

“I don’t know.”

Sylvain gritted his teeth. “This is all Dorothea’s fault. Whatever she did, whatever she said, it broke you. If she was here right now, I’d…”

Ingrid cut him off with a fist to the face. Sylvain stumbled back and fell on his ass. Despite his already swelling face, he smiled.

“I guess the Ingrid I know  is still in there somewhere.”

Ingrid rubbed her fist. “Yeah, maybe she is.”

“And the Ingrid I know wouldn’t take all this lying down.”

Ingrid nodded. “No, I don’t suppose she would.”

***

Dorothea stood silently beside Emile on the student council’s terrace.

“So Emile!" Ferdinand yelled. "You are now engaged to the rose bride!” He had to raise his voice to be heard over the roar of an unseen train.

“Yes, we can all see that!” Dimitri shouted back. “Must you point out the obvious?”

“I just needed it on the record!” Ferdinand flipped over his hourglass. 

“I can’t believe my little brother is engaged!” Mercedes said after the train passed, her voice somewhere between excited and enraged.

“It’s purely a… political marriage, dear sister,” Emile said, though that sinister look flared in his eyes. “Isn’t that right, Dorothea?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s right, what?”

“That’s right, my lord,” Dorothea corrected herself. Ferdinand couldn’t help but notice how subdued she was. Nothing like the lively woman he’d seen living in the dorm with Ingrid Galatea.

Mercedes was about to say something else when the elevator dinged behind her.

“I’m here to see the student council president.”

Ferdinand knocked his hourglass off the table in surprise, but Emile stood calmly, a wicked smile overtaking his face.

“I’m flattered that you want my attention, Lady Galatea, but I’m afraid…”

Ingrid wasn’t listening. She marched right up, dropped a handwritten note into his hands, then turned and left. 

Ferdinand didn’t see the whole thing, but he saw enough. It was a challenge.

***

“Use this,” Dimitri said, holding out his sword. “It nearly beat you when we dueled, so I know it will serve you well.”

Ingrid took the sword but eyed Dimitri cautiously. “Why do you care?”

“The way Emile beat you was underhanded and wrong,” he said.

“I thought you were done with being honorable and noble.” 

“There’s a line,” Dimitri said. “A difference between recognizing the futility of honor and slithering around in the dark like a serpent. Emile could stand to be taken down a peg.”

***

“Grant me the power to bring the world revolution!” 

Seeing Emile cradle Dorothea in his arms and pull the Sword of Creator from her breast made Ingrid want to throw up.

“I’m sure you realized that this is no ordinary sword,” Emile said, his face taking on that skull-like visage again. “But did you know it could do this? Dorothea, unleash the true power of Sothis!”

Dorothea clasped her hands together and muttered something like a prayer, then touched the sword. It glowed bright and hot.

“You lied to me!” Ingrid shouted. “You’re not my prince!”

With this new power, the sword of the creator seemed to move almost like a whip, and even as she blocked Emile’s strikes the blade came around to slash the sides of her arms.

“I never said I was,” Emile countered. “I just let you believe the lie you told yourself. Kidnapping Dorothea and setting Felix up to make myself the hero worked better than I had even expected. I almost didn’t even need the show of me talking Mercedes down from murdering you. But you can’t be too careful, can you?”

His eyes were full of pure malice as he grinned a wide, vile grin. His whole face seemed to take on the aspect of a skull. It was as if he were Death itself. Ingrid wanted nothing more than to wipe that look off his face.

But she was losing. With one powerful strike, Emile’s red-hot blade carved straight through Ingrid’s sword and split it in half.

“It’s over,  princess . If you continue to fight, I will not refrain from hurting you.”

Ingrid ignored his warning and swung at him with her stump of a sword. He caught it with the sword of the creator, which slowly burned its way towards Ingrid, threatening to cut through the other side and into her flesh. 

She took one last, desperate look at Dorothea. There were tears in the girl’s eyes.

Then the sword of the creator stopped glowing.

“What?” Emile, too, looked to Dorothea, eyes wild with anger. Ingrid took this opportunity to yank her sword free and slash it across Emile’s chest, splitting his flower in half. 

He fell to his knees as the sword of the creator turned to dust in his hand. “I suppose that… to know victory without defeat… would be maddening.”

***

“I am your bride again, Ingrid. I will do whatever you ask of me.”

“Shut up, Dorothea. I’m not going to ask anything of you. Let’s just go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wraps up the Student Council Saga of Utena. Up next: The Black Rose Saga.
> 
> For reference, here's a conversion chart for which Utena roles each character (so far) is filling:
> 
> Ingrid Galatea - Utena Tenjou  
> Dorothea Arnault - Anthy Himemiya  
> Felix Fraldarius - Kyouichi Saionji  
> Emile von Bartels - Touga Kiryuu  
> Mercedes von Bartels - Nanami Kiryuu  
> Anette, Constance, and Ashe - Nanami’s flunkies  
> Ferdinand von Aegir - Miki Kaoru  
> Dimitri Blaiddyd - Juri Arisugawa  
> Sylvain Gautier - Wakaba Shinohara  
> Edelgard von Hresvelg (mentioned only) - Shiori Takatsuki  
> Claude and Hilda - The Shadow Players


	3. The Black Rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ingrid meets Dorothea's older brother as a new series of duels begins...

“Ingrid, this is my big brother, Byleth.”

Ingrid shook the man’s hand. His grip was strong but gentle, and his blue eyes captivated her. She got the strange feeling that they could see right into her heart.

“Your brother, huh?” Ingrid asked. There was something familiar about him, but it certainly wasn’t his dark blue hair, so unlike Dorothea’s.

“Adopted,” Byleth clarified.

“Byleth took me in when I was living on the streets,” Dorothea said. “It’s because of him that I was able to take singing lessons and eventually come to school here. I owe him a lot.”

Byleth shrugged. “It was nothing, really. Just the right thing to do.”

“How noble,” Ingrid said. Byleth flashed her a small smile.

“Byleth is also the acting chairman of Garreg Mach,” Dorothea said.

“Is that so? Forgive me, but you seem rather young for such a task.”

“Looks can be deceiving,” Byleth said with a laugh. 

***

“It is such a delight to meet you,” Byleth’s fiance said as the four of them sat down together for tea.

The girl, Flayn, looked young to Ingrid, even younger than Byleth. She was supposedly an adult and the oldest person in the room, but Ingrid found that hard to believe. Not just because of her looks, but also her demeanor and the cute little fish-shaped cookies she’d set out for them to eat.

“Likewise,” Ingrid said. “So how did you two meet?”

“It was actually arranged by my father,” Flayn said. “I’m sure you know of him. Seteth Cichol? He’s the school chairman.”

“That’s actually how I got the job,” Byleth said. “Flayn’s father has fallen very ill, so he asked me to serve as acting chairman in his absence.”

“Well I hope your father feels better soon,” Ingrid said.

“Thank you! You know, I am so glad that Dorothea has another friend. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she spends all of her free time with Byleth here!” Flayn laughed a nervous laugh and shot a strange look at Dorothea.

Ingrid wondered what was going on there. Did Dorothea really spend that much time with her brother? This was the first time Ingrid had met or even heard of him. Was “free time” what Dorothea called the time she didn’t spend around Ingrid?

She and Flayn both frowned. The rest of their tea time was rather awkward.

***

“Do you know? Do you know? Have you heard the news?”

“Claude,” Ingrid said, “I’ve told you before. If you insist on telling me your idle gossip, at least just talk to me like a normal person.”

“They say Professor Hanneman’s new seminar can cure whatever ails you, mind, body, or soul!”

“Oh Hilda,” Ingrid sighed. “Not you too.”

“But the seminar is at Hevring Memorial Hall. It’s supposedly haunted by the ghosts of a hundred students who died when the original building burned down.”

Ingrid was about to call out this superstitious bit of nonsense when a pair of students nearly knocked her over in a rush to leave the area. Their faces were pale white, like they actually believed that silly ghost story. 

Why were people at this school so afraid of ghosts?

***

Flayn rang the bell at the front desk of Hevring Memorial Hall. There was no one else in the waiting room, and even after she stood there for several minutes, no one came to greet her.

“How strange,” she muttered. She noticed signs in each of the waiting room chairs, all pointing her down a hallway. She followed them until she reached a small room with a chair in the center. She sat down nervously.

“Hello?” she called out. “My name is Flayn Cichol? I was invited here for the Hanneman Seminar?”

The room suddenly shook and began moving. It was an elevator!

“Alright,” a man’s voice said over the intercom. “Please begin.”

“Well, I am engaged to be married to a man picked out by my father. He is strange, and very quiet, but he treats me well and I do not mind marrying him. The problem is…”

“Deeper,” the voice said. “Go deeper.”

“The problem is his sister,” Flayn said. “Adopted sister. She always acts so cold to me; it is almost as if she is jealous. I know that cannot be right, but that is the feeling I get. And it would not be such a problem except that she is always around! I feel as if I never get any time alone with my own fiance! And no matter what I do, I know we will never be friends. No matter what I do, it will not be enough!”

The elevator came to a sudden stop. 

“I understand. Your only choice is to Revolutionize the World.”

***

“Flayn?” Ingrid called out to the girl standing across from her in the arena, but she didn’t respond. She just stared at Dorothea. “Dorothea, what is she doing here? Since when is she a duelist?”

Flayn wore a black rose on her breast and a black crest ring on her finger. The challenge Ingrid received had been anonymous, but she was expecting a rematch with a member of the student council, not a duel with Byleth’s fiance.

“Upon the Black Rose I swear,” Flayn said in a strange monotone, “I shall win this duel. Then I will kill the rose bride!” 

“Flayn, why are you doing this?”

“That’s not the same Flayn you met before,” Dorothea said. “That black rose has somehow unlocked another, darker part of her.”

“Well, either way. If you’re trying to kill Dorothea, then I won’t show you any mercy.”

She grabbed Dorothea and dipped her so she could pull the Sword of the Creator from her breast. This was the first time she’d done this since winning Dorothea back, and it somehow felt different. She blushed harder than usual.

“Grant me the power to bring the world revolution!”

***

“So, how is your fiance?” Ingrid asked, trying not to sound too suspicious.

“She’s fine,” Byleth said. “Napping. She can sleep for quite a long time.”

“You don’t say… She didn’t mention anything strange, did she? She was feeling okay?”

“Strange? Like what?”

“Oh nothing,” Ingrid said with a sigh. “I just heard there might be a bug going around the school.”

Did Flayn not remember any of it? She vanished without a trace after their duel, so it was a relief to find out she had apparently made it home.

“Thank you for your time, Chairman.”

“Please, call me Byleth.”

***

“That girl’s heart was no match for the combined powers of Lady Galatea and the rose bride.” The professor stroked his chin as he considered his options.

“Well it’s not my roses,” said his white-haired companion. “I grew them perfectly.”

“I know, Lysithea, I know. Still, we need a new strategy if we are to defeat End of the World’s champion and make you the new rose bride.”

“Whatever it takes. I would love to not die.”

The man continued to ponder his predicament. Ingrid Galatea’s advantage was the sword she drew from the rose bride’s chest. Perhaps such a thing could be emulated?

“I think I have an idea.”

***

“That’s enough, Ferdinand,” Edelgard said. “I have already bested you in every challenge you have proposed. Now please, allow me to get on with my day.”

Ferdinand flipped over his hourglass. “Fine. You may have triumphed this day, but there will be another.”

Edelgard sighed and turned to leave, but then she spotted Dimitri on the other side of the courtyard. She called out to him.

“El?” He made his way over to her as fast as he could without seeming desperate. She smirked to herself at the pathetic display. “It’s been a long time.”

“Has it?” Edelgard made a show of thinking hard. “I suppose I don’t really remember.”

Dimitri frowned. He clearly had something to say, but he hesitated, debating whether or not to say it.

“I have to tell you,” he said after several moments of silence, “I am no longer the same weak boy I was before. I was the naive sort of person who believed in miracles and nobility. When you turned me away, when you left, that was the final catalyst I needed to abandon those silly notions. I’m stronger now, and I have you to think for it.”

***

“My name is Edelgard von Hresvelg. I just transferred back to Garreg Mach.”

“Alright, please begin.”

“I saw some old friends recently. Well, not exactly friends. But I did miss them, in my own way. It felt good to see Ferdinand so desperate to prove himself, and Dimitri so desperate to hide his feelings.” Edelgard smiled.

“Deeper. Go deeper.”

“Well, I suppose I’m a bit annoyed, too. Dimitri was, is, in love with me. When he told me a few years ago, I rejected him. He was always so noble and chivalrous, playing like a medieval knight, like being a member of an important house, having an important last name, was something that actually mattered, and not just a curse.” 

“My whole family died, you know, because my father wouldn’t use his money to support some plan or another. Some fringe group kidnapped and killed all of my siblings. I only survived by chance. Dimitri has lost people, too, but now he says it was my rejection that turned his life around? That’s what made him see how stupid it all was?”

“Good, very good. Keep going.”

“He’s pathetic! And it’s clearly all an act, anyway. The fool still loves me, and as dour as he acts, he still doesn’t realize the injustice of this world. He doesn’t realize that it must be burned to the ground so a new world can be built from its ashes! I want to rip out that foolish heart of his. I must either break him so much that he finally stops loving me, or break him so much that he finally understands me.”

The elevator came to a stop and opened to reveal what looked like a tomb full of coffins. A man beckoned her in. He was much younger than she’d expected a Professor Hanneman to be, with long green hair pulled back behind his head. 

“Your only choice is to Revolutionize the World. The path is open before you.”

Then a girl with snow-white hair stepped up behind her. 

“This is your new heart,” she said as she stabbed a black rose into Edelgard’s breast. “A rose that blooms at the end of the world. It will unlock your true potential.”

***

“El?” Dimitri was surprised to see Edelgard approaching him after she’d stormed off the last time. “Do you need something from me?”

Edelgard walked right up to him and put her hand on his belt. He began to blush before he realized that she’d grabbed his dagger.

“I gave this back to you when I rejected you,” she said. “Yet you’ve kept it all these years. What a pathetic little man you are. You act so strong, yet you’re pining after a woman who never gave you a second thought.”

“Don’t push me, Edelgard,” he warned, though he knew he was incapable of hurting her.

“If your friend’s death didn’t break your naivete, then my rejection certainly didn’t. Whatever you tell yourself, Dimitri, you’re still weak. But I’ll show you true strength.”

Dimitri felt a sudden pain in his chest. A moment later, a spear burst out of his body.

***

“I will kill the rose bride,” Edelgard said. “And then I will revolutionize the world. Everything must be burned to the ground so that no one else suffers as I have!”

“Edelgard?” Ingrid asked. She knew of the girl by reputation, but couldn’t think of any reason she might have to want to kill Dorothea. 

This was Ingrid’s second anonymous challenger, and the second to wear a black rose and a black crest ring. But Ingrid could tell Edeldgard would be much more dangerous, not just because of the killer look in her eye, but also the brutal spear of bone in her hands.

No matter. She was still going to win this.

“Grant me the power to bring revolution!”

As Ingrid thought, Edelgard was a formidable opponent. She fought with a rage that rivaled both Emile and Dimitri. Come to think of it, something about her fighting style reminded Ingrid of Dimitri. Didn’t he like to train with spears, too?

But as powerful as Edelgard was, she still couldn’t match that mysterious power Ingrid unleashed from the sword of the creator. She felt the presence take her over once again, and in an instant, the battle was over.

***

“If it cannot break its shell, a chick will die without being born. The chamber of freedom and the cage of freedom, without revealing the vastness of the sky, both care for the chick. Smash the world’s cage. For the revolution of the world!”

Dimitri rolled his eyes at Mercedes’ new version of the student council pledge.

“Until Emile feels better, I will be filling in as student council president in his place. Is that alright with the two of you?”

“That’s alright with me,” Ferdinand said.

“Fine,” Dimitri muttered.

“These black rose duelists are becoming a problem,” Ferdinand said. 

“I am very aware.” Dimitri could still feel where Edelgard had pulled a spear from his chest, even though there wasn’t so much as a mark left behind. And the next time he saw Edelgard, she acted like nothing even happened.

“If they’re targeting student council members, we have to be alert,” Mercedes said. “And we have to keep a close, protective eye on my brother. As long as he’s ill, he’s vulnerable to their schemes.”

“I think you can handle that,” Dimitri said. “I’ve earned some rest.”

Ferdinand flipped his hourglass. “You were already targeted, Dimitri. I think the rest of us would appreciate your support in case one of us is next.”

Dimitri rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

***

“My name is Annette Dominic.”

“Alright, you may begin.”

“Well, I have this friend, Mercedes. And I’m worried that her relationship with her brother is holding her back. She should’ve already graduated, but she’s still here at the academy, all because of her brother. I don’t think it’s healthy.”

“Go deeper.”

“I guess… I guess I’m jealous. She’s so beautiful, and selfless, and kind, and I think it’s all wasted taking care of her asshole of a brother. What about me? I’ve been there for years, but she barely speaks to me anymore! What’s it going to take for Mercedes to notice me, to realize how I feel? To realize that I’m the one she should be doting on, I’m the one she should be obsessed with?”

“I understand. Your only choice is to Revolutionize the World.”

***

“Do you need something, Annette?” Mercedes asked. “I’m sorry, but I’m busy keeping watch over the house. Someone is targeting members of the student council, and I don’t want anything to happen to Emile.”

“Someone is targeting the student council, huh? You don’t say…”

Anette stepped into the light and Mercedes saw her cold, dead eyes and the black rose on her chest.

***

“That’s Anette…” Ingrid couldn’t think of her last name.

“Dominic,” Dorothea said.

“Right, thanks. And she’s got a sword and a dagger. What do we think that means?”

“Upon the Black Rose I swear, I shall win this duel. Then I will kill the rose bride…”

“Right, we got it,” Ingrid said. “So do you have a grudge against Mercedes or Emile or what?”

“Once I revolutionize the world, Mercedes will know my true feelings!”

“Your true feelings, huh…” Ingrid felt that blush return. Now it was just popping up at the thought of two girls being in love. What was wrong with her?

She was so distracted that she almost forgot to summon the sword of the creator before Annette came at her.

***

“Three down,” Ingrid said. “Who do you think is next?”

“I’ve got no idea,” Dorothea said. “Hey, where’s your friend Sylvain? I feel like I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“I think he’s your friend, too, considering how much time the three of us have spent together,” Ingrid said. “Anyway, he’s been going straight back to his dorm room after classes for a while now. He hasn’t said exactly what he’s up to, but if I had to guess, I’d say he’s got himself a girlfriend.”

***

“Emile, are you there?”

Emile lazily rolled his head to face the door of the sitting room. The Bartels manor was large and had many servants, but he didn’t recognize the voice that was calling out to him.

A blonde girl walked towards him, and for a moment he thought it was his sister, but then he realized that this girl was much younger and had much less hair. She did look vaguely familiar…

“Can you say my name?” she asked, her voice cold and dead. She somehow reminded him of himself. At least, one part of himself.

“I… don’t know it,” he croaked out.

“That’s what I thought,” she said. She reached out towards his chest, and he felt a sudden pain. Something huge and unwieldy ripped its way out of his body.

***

“Okay, have we even met this one?” Ingrid asked.

“Yeah, of course,” Dorothea said. “Her name was… uh…”

“My name is Constance von Nuvelle!” she shouted. “And no one will ever forget me or my family name again. Once I revolutionize the world, Emile will finally recognize me, and our two houses will be joined in a mighty union!”

“Okay, well let’s get this over with,” Ingrid said. “Grant me the power to bring revolution!”

***

“These lovesick fools have been no use at all,” Lysithea complained. “And nobody even knew who that last girl was. Does she even go to this school?”

“I admit she may have been a weak choice,” the green-haired professor said, “but I have my eyes on a very promising candidate. He  is another lovesick fool, but it’s a unique situation that I think will create a particularly challenging opponent for Lady Galatea. But first, I need to get a certain disgraced student council member reinstated.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the start of the Black Rose saga! I actually wrote this whole part in one sitting so the cut-off point between this chapter and the next one is sort of arbitrary. I'll post a list of all the Black Rose characters in the next chapter notes.


	4. Go Deeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ingrid is forced to duel and old friend before finally confronting the one behind the Black Roses...

“Training again?” Sylvain said. Felix was swinging his sword around in the middle of Sylvain’s room. There was barely enough room for it, but they’d moved all the furniture off to the sides when Felix had first moved in.

“I train all day while you’re gone,” Felix said. “I have to be prepared for when I get readmitted.”

“Right, right…” Sylvain said, not admitting that he doubted that would happen. Or that he hoped it wouldn’t.

“Hey,” Felix said, putting down his sword. “I’ve got something for you.” 

He handed Sylvain a box of chocolates.

“What’s this? Oh, did someone give you some sweets without knowing you hate them?”

“No, dumbass,” Felix said. “Who would give me a present? I don’t leave your room. I got these mailed in. For you. I wanted to thank you for helping me out, for putting up with me.”

Sylvain blushed. “Oh, come on Felix, it’s no big deal…”

“No, it is. Ever since we were kids, even when it was all four of us, you would always go out of your way to protect me. Always goofing around, sure, but you were there when I needed you.”

“You remember our promise, right?” Sylvain asked. He sat down and opened the box of chocolates. Felix sat beside him.

“Of course. We’re going to stick together until we die. I’m… sorry that I’ve been ignoring you for a while.”

“It’s okay,” Sylvain said, “I know that Glenn’s death hit you hard.”

“Yeah…” Felix said. 

Then they sat in silence, and Sylvain tried not to notice just how close together they were sitting or how their knees brushed against each other. 

***

“Do you know? Do you know? Have you heard the news?”

Sylvain stopped to watch Claude and Hilda put on their weird little puppet show. It was always worth a laugh.

“Felix Fraldarius is coming back to school!”

“Wow, after he almost killed the student council president?”

“I heard he’s even going to be allowed back on the council!”

“He must have… Hey, where is Sylvain running off to in such a hurry?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t heard the news about that yet.”

***

Sylvain almost knocked Felix over as he burst in through the door. Felix was on his way out, bag slung over his shoulder and sword in hand. He’d even moved all the furniture back.

“Oh, Sylvain!” Felix said. “I’m glad I saw you. I left you a note, but now I guess I can tell you in person. I’ve been readmitted to Garreg Mach! And I’m even getting my spot back on the student council!”

“How did that happen?” Sylvain asked.

“I’m not really sure, something to do with ‘End of the World,’ I gather. Anyway, I really should be going. No need for me to bother you any longer.”

“Felix…” Sylvain blocked the doorway. “You don’t have to go. You haven’t been a bother, really.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “Sylvain, please. I appreciate all your help, but this really isn’t going to work any longer. I need to focus on my training, on getting stronger. You’re so… unserious. Idle. I value your friendship, obviously, but spending so much time with you has really held me back. So, just let me go, alright?”

***

“Deeper. Go deeper.”

“I would do anything for him, to protect him, to make him happy. It’s been that way ever since we were kids! And when his brother died, I tried to be there for him, but he just pushed me and everyone else away. And then, after he got expelled and he moved in with me, I thought we were finally close again! Best friends, and maybe even…”

Sylvain punched the wall.

“But that asshole dropped me the second he got back into Garreg Mach. He doesn’t care about me, or anyone else. All he wants to do is fight and fight and fight till he kills himself or someone else. I hate him!”

“I understand. Your only choice is to Revolutionize the World. The path is open before you.”

***

“Sylvain? What do you want now? I told you, I’m going to be very busy training. I have a lot of catching up to do, so I really don’t have time…”

Sylvain cut Felix off by pressing his mouth over his in a rough kiss. Before Felix could protest, Sylvain placed a hand on his chest and yanked something out of it.

***

“No,” Ingrid said. “No way. Sylvain?”

“You know that’s not the Sylvain you know,” Dorothea said. “Don’t get distracted, Ingrid.”

“Upon the Black Rose I swear…”

“Snap out of it!” Ingrid shouted. “Sylvain, you don’t have to do this!”

“I do,” he said, his voice cold. “He cares more about these stupid duels than he ever will about me. That’s why I must kill the rose bride and end all this!”

“Sylvain…”

“Ingrid, you have to fight,” Dorothea yelled. “Please, draw your sword!”

“I… I can’t!”

Sylvain charged, sword in hand. But he wasn’t headed for Ingrid — he went straight for Dorothea.

“No!” Ingrid tackled Sylvain aside and they both went sprawling.

“Ingrid, draw the sword!”

“No, not against him!”

She dodged out of the way as Sylvain swung at her. He was fighting desperately, sloppily. Ingrid knew that, even if he was no fencing or kendo captain, Sylvain was better than this. She slammed her fist into the side of his head.

“I just want him to acknowledge me!”

“I acknowledge you, you idiot!”

Ingrid grabbed Sylvain’s wrist and twisted till he let the sword drop. She caught it with her other hand and brought it up to slice the rose from his breast. 

***

“Alright, you’ve had your fun,” the man said, tossing a letter down on the green-haired professor’s desk. “But now it’s time for you to take care of this yourself.”

The professor gazed up at the Chairman, or Byleth, or End of the World, whatever he was going by now, and thought back to when they first met. Back before the professor had borrowed the name “Hanneman” from one of his old teachers, back when he was still Linhardt von Hevring, the namesake of this very building.

Byleth had enlisted Linhardt in a mad scheme to “Revolutionize the World,” to acquire “Something Eternal.” Supposedly, some great power slept right there at Garreg Mach, just waiting to be awakened. It sounded absurd to Linhardt, but his own research bordered on the occult and left him unemployable at any institute of “real” science, so he took the job.

He found the work pretty boring and, honestly, a bit beneath him. He was totally checked out until he met Lysithea. A beautiful, vibrant young woman who loved sweets and just happened to be dying of a rare, incurable disease. 

All of a sudden, Linhardt found himself caring about this “Something Eternal.”

“Fine,” Linhardt said, stirring from his memories and picking up the letter. A pointless formality, if you asked him. “I will duel and defeat Ingrid Galatea myself. And then eternity will belong to me and Lysithea.”

***

“I guess I’m next,” Ferdinand said.

“Ferdie, dear,” Mercedes cooed, “Does anyone really care enough to pull a weapon out of your chest?”

“Excuse me?” Ferdinand stammered, dropping his hourglass. “I am sure that there are a dozen girls who feel very intense emotions upon looking at me. Why, I can think of one in particular whose singing I used to adore until my attentions turned to Dorothea. I am sure she feels incredibly scorned.”

“Are you talking about Professor Manuela?” Dimitri asked. “Your adult teacher? I’m positive she doesn’t think of you at all.”

“Well, perhaps Edelgard…”

“She already fought once,” Mercedes reminded him.

“You’re not missing out on anything,” Felix said, rubbing his own still sore chest. He looked around at the massive number of balloons floating all over the terrace. “Is it just me, or have these student council meetings gotten a lot weirder?” 

***

“Excuse me,” Ingrid said. “Is this where the Hanneman seminar is held?”

“Yes, it is,” the green-haired young man said. “I’m Professor Hanneman.”

“Really?” Ingrid asked. “I kind of imagined you as like, an old man with gray hair and a mustache. Maybe a monocle.”

“I get that a lot,” the professor said with a laugh. “What can I do for you, Lady Galatea?”

Ingrid narrowed her eyes. “How do you know my name?”

“Oh I know all about you,” he said. “Ingrid Galatea, great champion of the rose duels.”

“I see. So it’s no coincidence that Sylvain came to your seminar just before he became one of those black rose duelists.”

“Indeed. In fact, I…”

Ingrid cut him off with a fist to the face. He crumpled to the ground.

“That’s for Sylvain, and for all the others you manipulated. That’s enough of your games. Come and challenge me yourself, if you’re so keen on winning these duels.”

***

“You’re not much of a fighter,” Lysithea scolded as Linhardt pulled the last black rose crest ring from one of the coffins.

“No, I’m not,” Linhardt said. “But I have something to fight for. Ingrid doesn’t even know what this is all about. I have a reason to desire eternity.”

Lysithea put her hand on top of his. It was cold. Dead.

“This is our last chance, Linhardt.”

“I know.”

***

Linhardt’s “something to fight for” counted less than he thought. Ingrid was a powerful opponent, and the sword of the creator only made her stronger. His skills weren’t up to par.

“I’m not going to lose to a manipulative creep like you!” Ingrid yelled.

“I just gave people the opportunity to achieve their desires,” he said. “Like you, and like me, they all had someone or something in their pasts that influenced them and set them on their current paths. I gave them the chance to change those paths.”

“Oh yeah, so what’s your sad backstory?”

Linhardt sneered. He was considering whether he should actually get into all when he heard Lysithea’s voice.

“You’re going to lose, Linhardt. You aren’t strong enough.”

“What?” he asked aloud. “Lysithea? Where are you?”

“I’m nowhere, Linhardt. Don’t you remember? You said yourself, after running your tests, that I only had five years to live.”

“But that’s why we did all this! That’s why we fought to claim eternity!”

“Who are you even talking to?” Ingrid shouted.

“How long ago was that?” Lysithea’s voice asked. “How long have you been planning all of this? How long have you been a young man?”

“I… I…” Then it all came back to him. How Lysithea had died before the project could be completed. How he’d burned down the hall and all of the research himself in grief. How he’d been waiting decades, never aging, to finally find eternity.

“That’s enough of this,” Ingrid shouted. “You’re finished!”

***

Ingrid stared at the burnt-out building. It seemed familiar, somehow.

“Hurry up,” a passing student said to his friends, “I hear that place is haunted.”

“Nah, I heard that some crazy researcher burned it down when no one else was inside. Don’t know why they never rebuilt it, though.”

“Well I don’t want to take any chances, so come on!”

Ingrid sighed. Why was everyone at this school so afraid of ghosts?

***

“A singer  and an actress. Is there nothing you can’t do?” Byleth put an arm around Lysithea’s shoulders. Except it wasn’t Lysithea. It never was. 

“I’ll do anything for you, big brother,” Dorothea said. “You know that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of the Black Rose saga! I hope it was gay enough for you.
> 
> As promised, here' all the characters that appeared in these chapters:
> 
> Byleth - Akio  
> Anette - Mitsuru  
> Constance - Keiko  
> Linhardt AKA Hanneman - Nemuro AKA Mikage  
> Lysithea - Mamiya


	5. End of the World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving in with Dorothea and Byleth makes it harder and harder for Ingrid to deal with her feelings. Meanwhile, the final round of duels begins...

Ingrid wasn’t sure how she felt about moving in with Byleth and Dorothea. It wasn’t that she was suspicious or anything — their dorm  was being renovated, and Byleth  did say he had been lonely ever since Flayn fell ill — she just didn’t know if this would be better or worse than just living with Dorothea.

Something about just the two of them alone in that big building made Ingrid nervous. It was one thing when she could just wave off Dorothea’s aggressive flirtations, but now…

Well, maybe it was a good thing that they’d have someone else under the same roof.

***

“Emile.”

Emile perked up, focusing his full attention on something for the first time in weeks. He turned to look at the blue-haired man standing in his bedroom.

“It’s time to come back, Emile. My knight of death. It’s time for you to see the End of the World.”

***

Ingrid stared at Dorothea’s face, admiring its perfect form. They were still sharing a bedroom, but instead of the bunk-beds they had at the dorm, they now slept on a pair of beds shoved together in the center of the room. It was a strange arrangement, but Ingrid didn’t particularly mind.

“Is something wrong, Ingrid?” Dorothea asked.

“No, nothing’s wrong. Nothing’s wrong at all…”

Dorothea flipped over to look Ingrid in the eyes. Their faces were close enough that Ingrid could feel the other girl’s breath on her lips.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would say you finally caught feelings for me.”

Ingrid felt her heart-rate increase as the blush burned in her face again. 

“Well, maybe… Maybe I have.”

A smile broke across Dorothea’s face and she lunged at Ingrid. Ingrid rolled out of the way of the kiss, but then Dorothea was on top of her, pinning her to the bed.

“My lovely Ingrid, if you have feelings for me, then what’s the problem?”

Dorothea’s face was close to Ingrid’s, close enough that she could have leaned up and kissed her if she wanted to. Instead, she let her head fall to the side.

“You’re the rose bride, Dorothea. As much as I want to believe that we have feelings for each other, I know that you’re supposed to do whatever your betrothed asks of you. As long as all of this is still going on, I can’t in good conscience pursue something with you, because I can’t know for sure that you’re choosing me of your own free will.”

Dorothea’s face fell, not into a frown but something totally neutral, and she rolled back onto her own bed.

“I see,” she said. She was quiet long enough that Ingrid wondered if she’d fallen asleep. 

“Sometimes love is complicated,” Dorothea finally said. “It’s not always simple and perfect, like in the storybooks. It’s not all princes and princesses.”

***

“I’m so glad you’re feeling better, little brother!” Mercedes fawned over Emile as he tried to wave her off.

“Yes, we all missed you  so much,” Dimitri said with obvious sarcasm.

“I’m not quite sure what happened over the past few weeks,” Emile said, “but it’s over now. End of the World has declared that the duels are to begin again.”

“What if none of us want to duel?” Ferdinand said. “I, for one, have kind of gotten used to life as it is. I’m not sure I really desire the power to bring revolution anymore.”

Emile grinned his horrible grin. “We’ll see about that.” 

***

“What do you want, Emile?”

“There’s no need to be rude, Lady Edelgard.” 

She knew from the look in his eyes that he was up to something. Other people might be fooled by his calm demeanor, but she recognized a darkness inside someone when she saw it.

“I know that you still desire to revolutionize the world,” he said.

“Do I now?”

“You do. I am going to introduce you to someone who can make that happen. Can you hear it?”

“Hear wha…” but Edelgard was interrupted by what sounded like… flapping wings? Then a mighty roar filled the air.

“That is the sound that soars through the End of the World!”

A massive white dragon landed beside Edelgard, though she had no idea how it got inside the school without crashing through a wall. A blue-haired man sat atop it, dressed all in black.

“It is time, Edelgard,” he said. “Time to choose your champion and revolutionize the world.”

***

“I’m done defining myself by you,” Dimitri said. “If I fight Ingrid again, it won’t be on your behalf.”

Edelgard smirked. “Oh really, Dimitri. You’ve finally gotten over me, is that it? Well then, I’ll just have to pick another man to be my prince.”

Dimitri frowned but said nothing.

“How about you, Ferdinand? Have you grown beyond comparing yourself to me at every opportunity?”

“I’m not sure what that has to do with our present situation,” Ferdinand said.

“I dueled Ingrid myself, you know. And I failed. I’m offering you another chance as my champion. And if you succeed, well, you’ll finally be better than me, won’t you?”

***

“Again, Ferdinand?” Ingrid worried that she was about to find herself fighting all of the student council members all over again. How repetitive, not to mention distracting. She had feelings to worry about, dammit.

“We’re going to revolutionize the world,” Edelgard said. She stood next to Ferdinand in a brilliant red dress and cape, her hair pulled up in two buns and wrapped around some kind of horned crown. She looked less like a princess or a bride than some kind of Empress.

“I’m sorry Ingrid,” Ferdinand said. “This is how it has to be.”

He placed his hand to Edelgard’s breast and pulled a massive axe made of bone out from her chest.

“I don’t even know how to fight with an axe,” he said.

“Stop complaining and fight!”

“Alright, let’s get this over with,” Ingrid said. “Dorothea, the sword!”

Ingrid tried to draw the sword of the creator from Dorothea’s breast, but nothing happened.

“What? It… didn’t work?”

“Maybe I have a chance after all,” Ferdinand yelled as he raised the axe above his head to strike.

“Ingrid!” Dorothea tackled her out of the way. “We have to do it together!”

Dorothea placed her hand to Ingrid’s chest. It glowed, and then something emerged.

“Grant us the power of revolution!”

It was a long spear made of bone. Ingrid took it in her hands, and it felt as if it were made for her. That power filled her up again, stronger than ever, and then she struck.

***

“An interesting development,” Emile said, lowering his spyglass.

Byleth nodded. “Very interesting indeed.”

***

“Ferdinand?”

He nearly dropped his hourglass again. He turned around nervously. “Y-yes, Lady Edelgard?”

“You really are pathetic, you know that?”

Ferdinand started to lower his head until he regained his nerve.

“Lady Edelgard!”

“Yes?”

“One day I will surpass you. I will prove that I am not just some cushioned noble, incapable of real achievement.”

“Hmph. So determined. Very well, Ferdinand. I await your challenge.”

***

“Oh!” Ingrid cried out as she nearly crashed into Byleth in the hallway. “I’m sorry, I was looking for Dorothea.”

“It’s alright,” he said, catching her before she could fall. “She’s out running an errand. But I was actually about to come and find you myself. I was wondering if you’d like to have tea with me.”

“Oh, sure,” Ingrid stammered. She’d never been alone with Byleth before, and she was honestly sort of nervous to be. Even though she was, apparently, in love with his sister, she couldn’t help but feel a kind of attraction to Byleth as well. He had a natural charisma that seemed to draw her in.

Byleth poured the tea and a fragrant mint scent filled the air.

“What a nice aroma,” she said. “Did you know that I enjoy mint tea?”

“Dorothea told me.”

“Ah, of course she did. You two are rather close, aren’t you?”

Byleth nodded, then sat forward in his chair so that his face was just a few feet from Ingrid’s. “I would like to get closer with you, too, Ingrid.”

Ingrid’s cheeks burned red.

***

“Hello, fellow student council members. I, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester, have finally returned to you!”

The Student Council terrace was filled with the sound of crickets, thanks to both the lack of reaction to Lorenz’s announcement and the large number of crickets hanging out there.

“What, no fanfare? I’m back to participate in the rose duels!” He flipped his absurdly long hair. “I will be the one to revolutionize the world.” 

“Lorenz,” Dimitri said, “you can’t just show up this far into everything and announce that you’re going to join the duels. If you wanted to be a part of this, you should’ve come at the beginning.”

“But…”

“And please,” Felix said, “can you cut that ridiculous hair?”

***

Mercedes looked to be on the verge of tears. “Do you think I could stay here for a little while?”

“Oh, Mercedes…” Ingrid didn’t know quite what to say. “Well, it’s not really my home to open to you…”

“Feel free to stay as long as you need,” Byleth said, startling Ingrid by appearing behind her. “My home is always open to a girl in need.”

“Did something happen at home?” Ingrid asked as she led Mercedes to the spare room.

“It’s Emile, he… He’s been acting so strange lately. He’s always had a sort of dark side to him — that’s why he needs so much looking after. But lately, it’s been like the other side of him is in complete control. He barely looks at me and refuses to even speak to me.”

“You poor thing,” Ingrid said, though secretly she thought the distance was probably healthy for them both. Mercedes really needed to get over this little brother complex she had going on.

“But that’s not why I’m here. Earlier tonight, he told me something horrible. He told me that we aren’t actually brother and sister! That my parents died when I was still a baby, and the von Bartels adopted me! Even though Emile is younger, they told him the truth because he’s their real son! My parents aren’t really my parents, and my brother isn’t really my brother…”

“Oh my,” Ingrid said, “That is certainly… a lot to take in.”

***

Mercedes had only gotten up for a glass of water. That was the truth. She hadn’t meant to see anything, to poke into anyone’s business. They were just there, out in the open, lying on the couch.

They were brother and sister, weren’t they? But no brother and sister should ever behave like that, adopted or not. No, no brother and sister should ever touch each other like that, should ever…

She ran as fast as she could to the elevator, not knowing or caring if they noticed her.

***

“What’s wrong, Mercedes?” her brother asked. Except he wasn’t her brother. Even if he were her brother by blood, he still wasn’t the gentle boy she’d grown up with. She didn’t know how she’d missed it, but at some point that dark thing inside him had taken over, turned Emile into someone different.

“How dare you ask me that,” she said. “You already know that you are what’s wrong with me!”

“If something is wrong in your world, then you need to find a new one.”

Something roared in the distance.

“Come with us, follow us to the world you seek!”

From out of nowhere, a white dragon landed on the floor beside her. Byleth sat astride it.

“So you’re the one?” she asked. “You’re End of the World?”

“Let’s go for a ride, Mercedes.”

***

“So what’s your reason for fighting me this time, Mercedes?” Ingrid asked.

“The world isn’t the way I thought it was,” Mercedes said. “But maybe that’s okay. Maybe I can forge a new path, new relationships. But first I have to prove that I’m not like her.” She pointed at Dorothea.

“Like Dorothea? What do you mean?”

“A tool to be used, passed around by her master. I defined myself by a brother who hasn’t really existed for years, if he ever did. I won’t be used by my memory of him anymore. This duel is to prove that I am my own person!”

Emile stepped beside her.

“I should have known you were behind this, Emile,” Ingrid said.

“But I’m not. Mercedes has her own reasons for hating the two of you.”

No, Ingrid thought. Mercedes was wrong. Dorothea  was her own person, and Ingrid would prove it when she beat Mercedes.

Well, maybe that wouldn’t prove anything. But she still had to win.

“Also, we’ll be borrowing your new trick,” Emile said. He reached out towards Mercedes and a sword sprouted from her chest.

“Fine,” Ingrid said. “Dorothea, let’s do this!”

“Grant us the power of revolution!”

***

“It was cruel to tell Mercedes that you aren’t really siblings,” Byleth said.

“It was your idea.”

“I suggested you reveal the truth. I thought just learning that you were half-siblings might have been enough to upset her little brother complex. You’re the one who lied and said there was no relation at all.”

“Maybe I did,” Emile said, looking down at his hands. “But it was only because of that seed of darkness you planted inside me.”

***

Tea time with Byleth had become a regular part of Ingrid’s life. Almost every day, Dorothea would go off on some errand or another, and Byleth would pour Ingrid a cup of mint or chamomile tea and ask her about her day. 

He’d already learned a lot about her from Dorothea, apparently, but after a couple of weeks of answering all kinds of questions, Ingrid was sure Byleth knew her entire life story. She even spilled out everything about Glenn, the funeral, and the prince, a story that only her childhood friends and Dorothea knew.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It must all sound so silly to an adult like you.”

“I don’t think it’s silly,” Byleth said. “In fact, I admire your resolve. Even many ‘adults,’ as you said, don’t have such a firm goal or drive. You’re one of the most mature women I know.”

He smiled at her, and Ingrid blushed again. She couldn’t help but feel guilty. She’d already confessed her feelings to Dorothea, even if she’d refused to act on them. But now, here she was, falling for her brother, too.

***

“Don’t you want to know what she saw all those years ago?”

Felix and Dimitri shared a glance before looking back to Emile.

“Maybe we do,” Felix said, “but what would you know about it in the first place?”

“I know the person who showed it to her,” Emile said. “The man who showed Ingrid the thing that inspired her to keep on living. The man who showed her something eternal.”

“Something eternal…” Dimitri mused.

“Yes, that thing that stopped her from becoming a bitter animal like the two of you.”

“You’re one to talk,” Felix said. “You’re the most heartless bastard of us all.”

Emile smirked that wide, sinister grin.

“Maybe so, but I’m the one offering you everything now. If your souls truly haven’t given up all hope, then you can hear it. The sound that soars through the end of the world!”

Then Dimitri and Felix both heard a great roar.

***

“We don’t have to fight, Ingrid,” Dimitri said. “If you will just tell us what you saw that day, we can go home right now.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Ingrid said.

“You know!” Felix yelled. “The day of Glenn’s funeral. Neither of us was ever the same, but you only got stronger. What did you see that brought you back to life?”

“I’ve told you. I met a prince who inspired me.”

“That’s not it,” Dimitri said. “You saw something eternal, something that gave you the will to live. If you won’t tell us, then we will have to win the duel and find out for ourselves.”

Ingrid thought back. What did she see? Her prince, of course. But that memory was so hazy. Had the prince alone really been enough to inspire her? What else could there be? Something eternal?

She shook away the thoughts as her two childhood friends reached into each other’s chests to pull forth a sword and a spear.

“Two at once?” Ingrid asked after Dorothea drew the spear from her breast. “Isn’t that against the rules?”

“Whatever End of the World says, goes,” Felix said. “If we win, we’ll fight each other for the rose bride. But first, we have to defeat you, Ingrid.”

Both boys were fearsome warriors on their own. Together, they were almost more than Ingrid could handle. It was all she could do to block their barrage of attacks. If she was still using the sword of the creator instead of her own spear, she would’ve already lost.

“Ingrid!” Dorothea called out.

“Dorothea, stay out of the way!”

“Ingrid, let me help!”

Ignoring Ingrid’s warning, Dorothea ran out into the middle of the battle. Ingrid tackled her to the ground.

“You’re going to get hurt!”

“Here!” Dorothea ran her hand along the length of Ingrid’s spear, and it began to radiate bright, hot light.

“Oh,” Ingrid said. She swung the spear against Dimitri’s and cut it in two. She blocked a blow from Felix and sliced his sword in half, too. In one quick motion, both of their roses were cut from their breasts.

***

“Is that it for us?” Felix asked.

“No,” Dimitri said. “We’re a part of this until the end — until the final duel is fought.”

“So until Emile has his rematch, then.”

“Maybe even beyond,” Dimitri mused. “There’s more to this End of the World than any of us knows.”

They sat there in silence, watching the sun fall.

“I wonder what Sylvain’s been up to,” Dimitri said.

Felix cast his eyes down. “Yeah, I wonder…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one chapter left! This is the arc where all the uncomfortable sexual stuff starts up so hopefully I've handled it well here. There's an Incest tag for a reason!


	6. Absolute Destiny Apocalypse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Only two duels remain. But what will Ingrid do when she finds out the truth behind Dorothea and End of the World?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long for me to get around to posting this final chapter. Thank you to everyone for reading!

“This shouldn’t be happening,” Ingrid told herself. 

This was wrong, wasn’t it? She’d refused Dorothea, so why now? Why with him?

Maybe it was just easier. Simpler. He was his own person. Grown up, independent.

He was also engaged. And the adopted brother of the woman she loved.

This was wrong. But she couldn’t stop.

***

“Did my brother enjoy the flowers?” Dorothea asked when Ingrid stepped off the elevator.

“Did he… Oh, yes. Yes, he did.” That was right, the whole reason she had even gone to see Byleth was to deliver flowers from his sister. How horrible was that?

“I’m glad,” Dorothea said. Her voice was as exuberant as ever, but Ingrid couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow, she knew.

***

“I can’t believe you talked us into coming to see Claude’s play,” Ingrid said. 

Sylvain shushed her. “Come on! Things have been pretty boring lately, and I’m sure it’ll at least be good for a laugh.”

“Maybe things have been boring for you…” Ingrid said.

“Well I’m excited,” Byleth interrupted. He put a hand on Ingrid’s shoulder and she shivered at his touch. “I’m always happy to support the work of my students.”

“Do you know? Do you know? Have you heard the tale?” Claude’s voice filled the room. “The Golden Deer Theater Company proudly presents ‘The Story of the Rose!’”

A huge, blond-haired teenager dressed as a prince stepped onto the stage with a rough-looking redhead and a meek, blue-haired girl dressed as princesses. 

“Once, there was a rose prince. He was a great hero who traveled the world with a band of merry mercenaries, fighting evil and saving princesses all across the land.”

The two princesses were replaced on stage by Hilda, dressed like a young girl.

“But after years of heroism, the prince became exhausted. His loving sister, the one princess he had saved and taken with him on his journeys, became worried for him.”

“If you die,” she said. “The light of the world will go out. The secret of eternity, the miraculous power to bring the world revolution! It will be gone forever!”

“So, against the prince’s wishes, his sister sealed him away so that the world could not extinguish his spark. To stop the people of the world from looking for him, the sister claimed to be a witch, and said she had killed the prince.”

The prince stepped offstage as the two princesses returned along with a short boy with glasses and a boy with purple hair who, if Ingrid wasn’t mistaken, had once been on the student council. The group surrounded Hilda. 

“Angry and despairing at the loss of their prince, the world rained a thousand swords and spears down upon the witch.” 

The actors made an unconvincing show of burning Hilda at a stake, then they all turned to the sparse audience and took a bow.

“But for locking the prince away, the witch was cursed. It is said to this day, she still feels those weapons piercing her flesh, and she will continue to suffer like that forevermore.”

The lights came back up, and there was a smattering of polite applause.

“Okay, never mind,” Sylvain groaned. “That totally sucked.” 

“I don’t know,” Dorothea said. “I kind of liked it.”

***

“I want you to get her a gift,” Byleth said. “Anything will do. Whatever you would get to woo a girl.”

“I have never ‘wooed’ a girl in my life,” Emile said. “And I doubt she would appreciate anything I might get her.”

“That’s rather the point, Emile,” Byleth said. “Be a good little dog and listen to your master, alright?”

***

“I can’t believe he would try to… I don’t even know what he was trying to do. Seduce me?” Ingrid tossed the bead necklace across the room.

“Oh? Do you not like jewelry?” Byleth asked. He was the only one at home, Dorothea being off another of her errands.

“Well, no I don’t, but that’s not even what I’m upset about. Emile, that jerk, manipulated me into thinking he was my prince, all to beat me in a duel! Why would I ever feel anything for him?”

“Why indeed,” Byleth said. “That is very strange behavior on his part. I hope what I am about to do won’t offend you, considering the circumstances.”

“Hm?”

Rather than explain, Byleth wrapped his arms around Ingrid from behind. He put something around her neck — a string with an owl feather at the end.

“I didn’t realize that I would be competing on the gift-giving front today. I hope you like it.”

“O-of course I do,” Ingrid stammered. “Who doesn’t love an owl feather?”

“I’m very glad.”

And then Byleth’s lips were on hers, and Ingrid couldn’t bring herself to break away. Instead, she closed her eyes and imagined those lips were his sister’s.

A small, throat-clearing cough came from across the room. Ingrid jerked away from Byleth and opened her eyes to see Dorothea staring at her, smiling.

“Dorothea, I… We…”

“Hello, Ingrid.” Dorothea acted as if nothing remotely strange or inappropriate had just happened in front of her. “How has your day been?” 

***

“I was waiting for your challenge, Emile.”

“I am sure you were. You are stronger, now. Whichever of us wins, I’m looking forward to this.”

The mask of humanity was gone from Emile’s face, and only that sinister, skull-like visage remained.

“Grant us the power of revolution!”

Emile fought harder than Felix and Dimitri combined. It was as if fighting was the only thing he knew in the world. 

But he was right — Ingrid was stronger now. Her new spear suited her much better than a sword, and she managed to keep him at bay with little trouble. She could see the excitement on his face, excitement at having a worthy opponent. He really didn’t care about anything but the battle.

Finally, she unleashed her full power and drove her spear through the rose on his chest. Emile just stood there, smiling.

“Defeated in a fair fight… It is finally over.”

Then that horrid look dropped from his face and he was that calm, gentle-looking man he’d always pretended to be.

“Ingrid, listen to me.”

“I’m not going to listen to anything you say.” Ingrid took Dorothea’s arm and turned to leave. “This was the final duel, which means that this is all finally over.”

“I just want to warn you!” he shouted after them. “Beware End of the World! He twisted me, made me into that… thing! He will do the same to you. He’s dangerous, and so is the rose bride!”

But Ingrid just waved off his ‘warnings’ as she and her betrothed marched down the stairs and back to their home.

***

This was it, Ingrid decided. If the duels were finally over, then so was this whole rose bride thing. Dorothea would be her own person now, which meant that they could finally be together, for real. 

But first, she would have to tell Dorothea everything. The girl had seen Ingrid and Byleth the other day, there was no way she hadn’t, but she still hadn’t ever brought it up. Ingrid would drag it all out in the open, that kiss and what she did with Byleth before. Hopefully, Dorothea would forgive her and they could start again. For real this time.

Dorothea never came to bed, though. Ingrid waited up past midnight, but she was still alone in their room. Finally, she decided to go out searching.

She found Dorothea without any trouble. Found her and Byleth, there on the couch. Her own brother. Adopted or not, they shouldn’t be… They couldn’t be. This whole time, while Ingrid had been battling her feelings for both of them, had they really been…

Dorothea caught Ingrid’s eyes. The rose bride’s were dead and empty, like a doll’s eyes.

***

Ingrid avoided them all day, or maybe they avoided her. She didn’t really know, only that she never saw them. 

She hadn’t even been looking for Dorothea when she went up to the roof. She just needed some air. But there was Dorothea, stepping off the edge.

“Dorothea!” Ingrid grabbed her hand just in time.

“Just let me go!”

“No, Dorothea. I don’t care about all of this. We can leave, we can escape all this. Together!”

“It’s not possible, Ingrid. That’s just a fantasy.”

Though Dorothea was determined to fall, Ingrid managed to pull her back onto the roof. She kept hold of her hand.

“I’m sorry, Ingrid. It was all a lie, an act. I tricked you, manipulated you — like I have so many people. I’m just a tool used to exploit people for my master’s gain. I don’t even have a heart of my own.”

“No, Dorothea,  I’m sorry. I’ve been acting like such a noble prince, but I never realized how you’ve been suffering, how you’ve been used. I used you myself, to feel like a good person, never stopping to wonder how you really felt.”

“I can’t leave here, Ingrid,” Dorothea was crying now. “But you can. Please, leave!”

“Never. I’m never leaving.”

***

“So you received a letter from End of the World,” Ferdinand asked.

“Yeah,” Ingrid said. She’d promised not to leave, but when she woke up that morning, Dorothea was the one who was gone.

Dimitri crossed his arms. “And you’re here, what, for advice?” 

“I don’t want to play his game anymore,” Ingrid said, casting her eyes to the floor. “But I can’t leave Dorothea behind.”

Byleth hadn’t been there that morning, either. But on the couch, that couch where she found them, there sat a letter from End of the World. 

“You have to see this through to the end,” Felix said. “You’ve come too far to give up now.”

“I agree,” Mercedes said.

“As do I.”

“Edelgard?” Ingrid asked. “Since when are you on the student council?”

“Oh,” Edelgard said, “Sorry. Today’s my first day. Emile dropped out all of a sudden, and I was invited to join up.”

“And I’m just here hanging out,” Sylvain said. “But I also think you should go for it. I don’t know what happened between you and Dorothea, but you owe it to yourself to end this, no matter how it shakes out.”

Ingrid nodded. “So… you’re all supporting me?”

“Yep.”

“Yes.”

“You bet.”

“Indeed.”

“We’re all behind you.”

Ingrid felt tears welling in the corners of her eyes. “Thank you, all of you.”

***

Byleth strolled across the arena towards her, the sword of the creator burning in his hand. He wore a brilliant white suit and his hair glowed a bright green. There was no doubt remaining in Ingrid’s mind.

Byleth was her prince.

Then Dorothea was at her side. “I’m with you, Ingrid. My lovely Ingrid.”

“You really mean to challenge me?” Byleth asked. “Even knowing that I am your prince? Go ahead then, draw your spear.”

Dorothea drew the spear from Ingrid’s breast, and Ingrid pointed it at Byleth.

“This all ends here, Byleth. I’m taking Dorothea away from here.”

Byleth laughed. “Oh Ingrid, you still don’t understand? You still don’t remember? Dorothea will never leave here. That’s the whole point. That’s what started you on this path to begin with.”

Then Ingrid remembered.

***

“I will show you something eternal,” Byleth said. “Come with me.”

Little Ingrid crawled out of the coffin and followed Byleth as he led her out of the church. Somehow, the front doors of the church led her into some sort of tomb. 

There, sitting on a throne, was a beautiful young woman writhing in pain. Ingrid realized with horror that she was pinned to the throne with a hundred swords and spears.

“What’s happening to her?” Ingrid asked.

“That is the rose bride,” Byleth said. “Once, long ago, we cared for each other. She was like my little sister. But it was my duty to protect the world from evil, and it nearly killed me. She couldn’t stand to see me that way, couldn’t stand to watch me sacrifice myself, so she hid me away. I was spared any further pain, but she was not. The people desired my return, and all the weapons of the world were leveled against her. Now she suffers their wrath for all eternity.”

***

“It was Dorothea,” Ingrid said. “It was always Dorothea.”

“That’s right,” Byleth said. “I showed you something eternal: her eternal suffering.”

“That’s when it happened,” Ingrid said. “I decided then and there that I would become a noble prince, like the man you claimed to be, and I would save her.” 

“Yes. But you were sadly mistaken.”

“How so?” 

“Because of it all, only that suffering is real. I was never the noble hero Dorothea saw me as, or the noble prince you aspired to be. I was just a man. She was the one who immortalized an image of me, and that is what you grasped onto, the same way you grasp your image of Glenn.”

“Leave his name out of your mouth!” Ingrid shouted.

“Everything you think you know is an illusion, Ingrid. Here, let me show you.”

Byleth snapped his fingers and suddenly the arena was gone, along with the castle in the sky and Dorothea beside her. Now they were back in the chairman’s apartment, the same place Ingrid had been living, in the same room where…

But now there was something else. That huge throne, wrapped and bound in heavy chains. At the foot of the stairs laid Dorothea, disheveled and broken.

“Dorothea!” Ingrid ran to her and tried to lift her to her feet, but the girl was limp.

“She is fine,” Byleth said. “As fine as she ever has been, at least. Now that you understand the futility of all this, hand over your spear.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because that weapon was forged by your duels. It is filled with your power. And if my predictions are right, it will be sufficient to break those chains you see above you and free the power of Sothis. The power to turn back the hands of time, the power of eternity!”

“You’re still on all that?” Ingrid asked.

“Of course. That’s what all of this was about. I can finally go back and become that noble hero Dorothea imagined me to be.”

“Forget it,” Ingrid said. “I said it once, and I’ll say it again. I’m taking Dorothea and I’m getting out of here.”

Ingrid held up her spear. She was ready and willing to fight until she felt something sharp stab into her back.

“I’m sorry, my lovely Ingrid. But I told you it was all an act.”

***

A mass of swords and spears buzzed around Dorothea, slicing and stabbing her over and over as Byleth hacked at the chains with Ingrid’s spear. 

“She takes the swords of mankind’s hate in the place of the prince,” he said. “This is the sacrifice Dorothea chose to make.”

Too weak to stand, Ingrid crawled towards Byleth and the throne. She came to her knees, and then her feet, just as the spear broke against the chains.

“So, even your spear is not strong enough.” Byleth sighed. “When will I finally regain the power of Sothis? Oh well, we’ll just try again next year.”

Ingrid stumbled past him as he climbed back down the stairs.

“You’re going to try yourself? Go ahead. It will do you no good.”

Ingrid reached the throne, but it disappeared. In its place stood a coffin, a sarcophagus, wrapped in thorny vines.

“Interesting…” Byleth mused.

Ingrid ripped the vines off one by one, ignoring the pain as the thorns pierced her flesh. Finally, she ripped open the sarcophagus and there was Dorothea.

“Dorothea! Come with me! Take my hand and let’s leave this place!”

Dorothea looked up at Ingrid as if seeing her, really seeing her, for the first time.

“My lovely Ingrid. You really came all this way for me? Even after I betrayed you?”

The ground shook beneath them. The room was collapsing, and the cloud of weapons turned its attention to the coffin.

“Come on, Dorothea, quickly!”

Dorothea reached out her hand to Ingrid. Their fingers brushed before the coffin fell from the stairs and through the collapsing floor. Ingrid didn’t even have time to cry out Dorothea’s name one last time before the swords and spears pierced her.

***

“Hey, where’s Ingrid? I feel like I haven’t seen her at all this year.”

“Ingrid? Who’s that?”

“Don’t you remember? She was the girl who was always talking about being a prince and all that stuff. She was weird but pretty cool.”

“Oh yeah! Didn’t she get hurt really bad in an accident?”

“I heard she had a bad break up and transferred schools to get away from it!”

“Well, I heard that she got in trouble with the chairman and got expelled!”

***

“That’s these letters done,” Byleth said. “I have to say, I have high hopes for this next class of duelists. I honestly thought Ingrid was the one, but they’re already forgetting her. Not quite the revolutionary girl I was expecting. Dorothea, dear sister, I’ll be expecting your help distributing these.”

“You really don’t get it, do you?”

Byleth turned to see Dorothea wearing a dress he’d never seen before and a wide sunhat. There was a bag over her shoulder.

“Ingrid didn’t fail, or die, or disappear. She escaped. She finally escaped the past, and you’re here still trying to seize the power to turn back the hands of time.”

“Dorothea… I don’t understand…”

“Of course you don’t. You’re just an ideal gone wrong, a faulty memory. You’ll stay here at Garreg Mach Academy, in this tomb you’ve built for yourself, and keep chasing the past. But I won’t lie here with you any longer.”

Byleth stared, dumbfounded, as Dorothea walked to the elevator. 

“Goodbye!” She sang a happy song to herself as she walked all the way to the front gate of Garreg Mach Academy.

“Now it’s my turn to find you. Wait for me, my lovely Ingrid.”


End file.
